# 1648
Chapter 1641: Sleeve Dance House
Half an hour later.
A figure wearing a bamboo hat slowly stopped at a corner of the bustling street. The chirping voices of women sounded like orioles from within the building ahead, accompanied by the occasional melody from string instruments—pleasant to the ear.
"Are you sure this is acceptable?" The red-haired girl beneath the hat asked cautiously.
"It's fine, Lady Saint." A missionary spoke earnestly. "Just go in with us. As long as you don't remove the hat, no one will notice."
The red-haired girl nodded vigorously. "Alright."
After some negotiation by the missionaries, they successfully entered the Sleeve Dance House. The missionaries' exotic appearances drew sideways glances from the guests and dancers inside, and they were also quite curious about the mysterious figure wearing the bamboo hat behind them. However, no one suspected it was a woman.
When the lead missionary produced a heavy ingot of silver, a short man from the dance house immediately put on a sycophantic smile and led them upstairs to the second floor.
"Distinguished guests, this is our finest private room. Not only is it spacious with attendants at your service, but the view is also the best. Would this be satisfactory?"
The red-haired girl walked into the private room. From here, she could clearly see the women dancing gracefully to the enchanting music below, as well as the guests scattered in front of the stage. Most of these were scholars with limited funds who still wanted to experience the refined pleasures—giving them a sense of looking down upon all living beings.
Satisfied with the room, the missionary produced another ingot of silver and pressed it into the short man's hand, speaking in flawless Chinese:
"This will do. Bring us some food... Also, we don't need any attendants. Make sure no one disturbs us."
The short man hesitated. "Does that mean you don't want any dancing girls to accompany you with drinks either?"
"No."
"Well... Very well then."
The short man seemed about to say something more, but upon seeing the missionary's sharp gaze, he swallowed his words. Smiling apologetically, he withdrew from the room.
Soon, several plates of fruits and pastries were delivered. True to the missionary's word, no dancing girls entered to serve wine. The soft, decadent music filled the house, while the missionaries inside the private room sat upright and proper, like sages.
The red-haired girl took the seat of honor. Her gaze passed through the curtain of the bamboo hat, sweeping over the women carrying trays of fruit, their bodies graceful and expressions seductive. They entered and exited other private rooms on the second floor from time to time, and greasy, lecherous laughter of men echoed from within.
"People without faith and principles are no different from beasts enslaved by desire." One missionary said darkly.
"There's no need to be so rigid. Having faith doesn't mean putting chains on yourself, and lacking faith doesn't mean being barbaric... View this world from a human perspective, experience its suffering and joy, and only then will you understand what they truly need."
The red-haired girl didn't seem averse to any of this. Her gaze passed through the curtain, curiously scanning each person. Occasionally, she would pick up a pastry and place it in her mouth.
"Well said, Lady Saint." Several missionaries came to a sudden realization. "Quick, summon some dancing girls for Lady Saint!"
"... That's not what I meant!"
The red-haired girl hastily stopped them. These people were Believers who, after she arrived on this continent, had been won over by her innate talent for faith and the doctrines she preached, and had voluntarily followed her to spread the name of the Holy Sovereign. Although they had been with her for quite some time, they still couldn't fully grasp the doctrines, and their thinking was constrained by personal experiences, unable to keep pace with her thoughts.
The red-haired girl had grown accustomed to this. After all, using doctrines to convey ways of thinking and understanding wasn't an easy task.
If it was difficult with just a few people, establishing an entire massive religion and spreading complete doctrines would be even harder... At the very least, she knew that the current her still lacked the necessary skill.
They watched the dance performances in the house for quite some time. Only when the red-haired girl had finished most of the pastries on the table did she slowly rise to her feet, preparing to leave.
Just then, three figures walked through the entrance of the dance house. The leader was a scholar dressed in Confucian robes. He led the other two up to the second floor with practiced ease, about to enter the private room they were occupying, only to be stopped by the person outside.
"What? Someone's already here?"
"..."
"Alas... Brother Qiye, it seems we're out of luck. This room has the best view. Since it's taken, shall we take the next one instead?"
After some discussion, the three of them settled in a private room adjacent to theirs, where they could also see the full scene below.
Soon, a group of lovely dancing girls pushed open the door to that room. Roughly eight or nine of them squeezed in together. This extravagant treatment immediately caused the guests in other private rooms and on the first floor to stare with envy.
"Compared to other cities in the Great Han, the people of Chang'an City really know how to enjoy themselves." One missionary snorted disdainfully.
The red-haired girl didn't stand up. She adjusted her bamboo hat and, while walking toward the door, said calmly:
"Ask the people in the next room to move over. It's time... for us to leave."
...
"Brother Qiye, isn't this place interesting?" Yan Zhong sat at the table. Two delicate dancing girls knelt behind him, chatting and laughing while massaging his shoulders and back. They seemed already quite familiar.
Lin Qiye sat on the other side with an odd expression. Watching several dancing girls make themselves comfortable as if about to recline against him, he reached out to stop them.
"Brother Yan Zhong... Enjoy yourself. I don't need any of that."
These dancing girls were indeed quite attractive, but Lin Qiye had no interest in such matters. Honestly speaking, their skills at serving drinks still停留在原始的美色勾引阶段，缺乏了一些精神方面的抚慰与内涵。The art of companionship went no deeper than basic physical allure, lacking any spiritual comfort or deeper meaning.
He hadn't expected that when Yan Zhong said "interesting place," he meant a brothel... If he had known earlier, he might as well have gone to a teahouse or pastry shop instead. In Lin Qiye's view, the service quality here still had room for improvement.
"What? Brother Qiye, do you find them unsatisfactory?" Yan Zhong slapped the table and called out to the short man behind him, "Go, invite Miss Qing'er over. This is a distinguished guest of the Marquis. We absolutely must provide the best hospitality..."
Hearing this, the man immediately perked up and turned toward the door, but was stopped again by Lin Qiye.
"Really, there's no need." Lin Qiye said helplessly. "Brother Yan Zhong, enjoy yourself. There's no need to include me."
Yan Zhong frowned, thinking, as if suddenly realizing something. "Could it be that Brother Qiye already has a family?"
"Well..." Lin Qiye paused, unable to explain clearly, so he went along with it. "That's right. I already have a family, and my fierce wife is quite formidable. If she found out I was fooling around outside, I wouldn't be able to explain myself when I got home."
Hearing this, Yan Zhong gave Lin Qiye a look of sympathy and stopped insisting. He dismissed the other dancing girls. As for Wu Quan... he was far too young, so naturally no dancing girls were arranged for him either.
Lin Qiye breathed a slight sigh of relief. He picked up the teacup from the table and took a sip. A strange burning sensation suddenly emerged in his chest.